If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Especially if you came from Mormon Archipelago as it only includes my major article posts.
Thanks for visiting!
Does it say anything that very conservative BYU won’t be protesting Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s BYU appearance today? Take that in contrast to the hype and hysteria that attended Vice-President Cheney’s commencement speech six months ago. Maybe it doesn’t mean anything, Reid is LDS after all. But I imagine many, if not most, at BYU have more in common politically with the Vice-President than the Senator.
Fortunately, the Deseret Morning News has the non-story that no protests are expected during Reid’s BYU visit today. The most that could be dug up are some comments on the Free Republic that someone should bring a protest sign. Hopefully, that’s an empty threat.
As much as I disagree with Senator Reid’s politics and rhetoric as a Democratic leader, I do hope all goes well today. His appearance will hopefully raise his visibility as a prominent (and Democratic) Mormon that will help the Church and its members smooth over some of the political divides among us.
I liked Dean Magelby’s closing in his op-ed on welcomg Sen. Reid:
Within the church there can be and should be room for disagreement about political matters. At the 1968 Commencement exercises President Hugh B. Brown encouraged students to “strive to develop a maturity of mind and emotion, and a depth of spirit which will enable you to differ with others on matters of politics without calling into question the integrity of those with whom you differ. Allow within the bounds of our definition of religious orthodoxy a variation in political belief. Do not have the temerity to dogmatize on issues where the Lord has seen fit to be silent.”
Senator Reid will be speaking on faith, family, and public service.
Tags: byu, civility, Harry Reid
1 comment
Comments feed for this article
Trackback link
http://www.asoftanswer.com/2007/10/09/a-civil-welcome-for-sen-reid/trackback/
9 October 2007 at 1:21 pm
Dan
The difference between Senator Reid’s visit and that of Vice President Cheney is that Senator Reid is not there to talk to the whole of the student body, or even those graduating (something far more special an occasion that should not be tainted by the stain of politics). I personally wouldn’t care if this particular thing was a visit by Cheney or Bush instead of Senator Reid. Events that occur during a semester that entail a discussion or presentation by a political leader are just fine. (Take Ahmadinejad’s visit to Columbia for example—perfectly fine—now if Columbia invited Ahmadinejad to speak at commencement, I’d have serious issues with Columbia University). BYU should have politely declined Cheney, but alas they did not.